Atm's Do Not Dispense Pesos: Help Please!

[janwesseling]

Dear expats,

I am Dutch and live since 2 years in La Plata, Buenos Aires province. I kept my account in the Dutch ABN-AMRO bank and during the last year I was able to withdraw pesos from all argentinian ATM's without any problems (except by the rip-off commissions, the absurdly low amount per transaction and the low exchange rate).

Since the beginning of March the ATM's started to refuse dispensing pesos, with the message: "código E-029, monto inválido". I have checked with my Dutch bank and they say all is ok, there are enough funds, and the card is in good working order.

I also tried different amounts to see if I was exceeding the daily limit, but nothing works. By chance I managed to withdraw some pesos in the Citibank La Plata, but after a week these ATM's also refused to dispense argentinian currency.

I have contacted the local banks and the local clearing nets (Link and Banelco), and they insist in that all is correct and the ATM's should be dispensing the pesos. But they do not.

Anybody having a similar experience? Any tips or tricks?

thank you all!

 

[Alicia karr]

That's what happened to me and then I found put the ATM machine that I was using wasn't working right! Try using a different ATM and make sure you're on the right system. Sometimes it can also mean that the machine is just out of cash.

 

[PaulZ]

Is your card not restricted by the bank. I know that for my Dutch ING card I actually had to specifically switch on the usage outside Europe... If I remember correctly it was actually the Rabobank or ABM-Amro who started all this, and maybe they decided to "reset" all their cards regularly back to Europe use only...

 

[Parvati]

Banco Frances, Santander and Galicia have designated ATM's now for foreign credit cards and cards that are not theirs. This is fairly new. They are copying the Brazilian system where only some ATM's accept international cards. Ask the clerk if the ATMs take foreign cards and where is the closest one that does.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

No problems with Irish cards in Santander Rio & HSBC in Arg. Not possible in Brazil...couldn't take reals out anywhere with an Irish card in Sao Paolo.

Supervielle and Itau definetly don't accept my Irish debit card (link, visa debit).

 

[Rich One]

IT depends if you use Banelco, Link or other carriers.... Citi has separate ATM for Citi international cards

 

[janwesseling]

Guys, many thanks to all, very useful feedback. I will see if I can find the special ATM's designated by Banco Frances, Santander and Galicia for foreign cards. Regarding using Banelco, link and others, in Argentina only Banelco and Link are active. Citi in fact has two separate ATM's but this is for their own cards and cards from other bank as I experienced in La Plata. The card in fact was initially set for Europe only but I corrected this using online banking in five minutes. I have tried hundreds (literally?) of ATM so this is not a matter of broken machines nor lack of cash. After all your replies it is clear to me that Banelco and Link have blocked the foreign cards for good and that only special ATM's will work with foreign cards. What really amazes me is that no information could be found in the web about this problem since thousands of tourists visit the country and nobody has reported this.
I will try the ATM's in the banks you mentioned and report.
THANK YOU ALL!!

 

[ghost]

It's part of the new and improved Chrisienomics "Piss Off The Tourist" program. I works so well that is pisses off the expat too.